Barbed WireThe prairies of Kansas historically have not been plentiful sources of trees or loose stone, materials commonly used in other parts of the United States to build fences.In the nineteenth century, lumber in large quantities was prohibitively expensive for most consumers to import to Kansas for fencing. How, then, was a pioneer farmer or rancher going to fence in his land? The solution for many settlers was a special kind of wire that could be stretched taut between fence posts to keep predators out, keep livestock in, and to signal to other homesteaders that this land was already taken. 
Barbed wire was ideally suited to the wide-open spaces of Kansas lands. It was relatively inexpensive, would not rot, was practically unaffected by fire, was strong and long-lasting, and was easily erected. Introduced in the 1860s, it quickly became widely-used: Between 1875 and 1885, the national consumption of barbed wire jumped from 300 tons to 130,000 tons. To compete in this popular new business, all inventors had to do was devise different methods of attaching barbs, points, wheels, or blocks to the plain drawn wire that was manufactured in Eastern factories. As long as the design did not infringe on previous patents, inventors stood to make money and a name for themselves. 
Hundreds of barbed wire designs have been invented; at least five variations were patented by Kansans in the late nineteenth century. Harbaugh's Torn Ribbon [shown above and at left] was patented June 7, 1881 by Joseph W. Harbaugh of Lawrence, Douglas County. Others include Beerbower's Two Point, patented October 6, 1885 by George Marshall Beerbower of Cherry Vale, Montgomery County; Hyde's Spur Wheel, patented May 8, 1883 by Charles F. Hyde of Ottawa, Franklin County; Raile's Fence Signal, patented August 2, 1887 by Robert E. Raile of Topeka, Shawnee County; and Schlyer's Fence Signal, patented June 25, 1889 by John Schlyer of Hays, Ellis County. Unfortunately, the Kansas Museum of History does not own these last four examples. If you have one in your collection that you'd like to donate, we'd like to see it. Check out our procedures for donating materials to the Kansas Historical Society. Much of the plain drawn wire used to make barbed wire was manufactured by the Massachusetts firm of Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Company. Ichabod Washburn, founder of this firm, was a benefactor and the namesake of Topeka's Washburn University. During the 1960s, the Lane Myers Company of Protection, Comanche County, Kansas was the leading supplier of concertina entanglement wire used on U. S. Army Engineer installations worldwide. Concertina wire is basically thick, heavy barbed wire. The barbs are close together and the wire is manufactured to curl, making it unsatisfactory for fencing. Several varieties of barbed wire may be seen in the farming section in the main gallery of the Kansas Museum of History. Pictured below are a few samples of barbed wire in the museum's collections, from top: 
Glidden's Barb, Large Double-strand, Square-wire Variation.
Variation of Glidden's Winner, patented November 24, 1874 by Joseph
F. Glidden of De Kalb, Illinois. PodcastListen to the Barbed Wire podcast on your computer! Subscribe to our new podcast!
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